Warning: Cannibalism, ghoulishness, Juuzou being Juuzou, Haise Sasaki being Badass Kaneki Ken. Ambiguous relationships between protagonists. Sparse torture. That's pretty much it.
About OOC'ness: You will soon find out that some characters (Well the main characters, actually) are OOC. Gasp! This is due to the fact that it is an Alternate Universe. In this universe, Anteiku never found Kaneki Ken. Instead, Yamori did. The characters history will be explained bit by bit, in the following chapters, so please bear with it. I'll still introduce the characters so you are not shocked upon finding out about them.
Haise Sasaki: Think of him as a saner version of post-Yamori, Badass ghoul Kaneki Ken. He picked up a lot of quirks from his captor; dry humor, a love of pain and torture, an unealthy obsession for pets. Well, you'll find out...
Suzuya Juuzou: He is in the same state of mind as when we first met him in the manga, a - for a lack of a better word - candy-loving nutcase. Due to his past with Big Madam, he developped an inhuman tolerance for pain, and even manages to deride pleasure from it. Same as Haise Sasaki. Behind his crazed exterior, there's a lost young boy in a world too big and too mean for him. He only shows this aspect in the safety of his home, and only to Sasaki, who he feels, shares a similar background.
Kirishima Ayato: Captured by Haise Sasaki. You'll find out about what happened to him soon.
Apart from these three characters (whose personnalities will be explained ), everyone else is still pretty much the same. Sometimes, flashes of their old personnalities (pre-trauma) will shine through, but these moments will be few and far inbetween.
Summary: Kaneki Ken spent eight years in Yamori's tender care. Scarred beyond belief by his experience at the hands of the most sadistic ghoul out there, there are more things than he picked up from Jason than his eating habits. Thankfully, Rank 3 investigator Suzuya Juuzou seems to be in the same predicament, so he won't be alone at CCG, riiight?
Author's note / Unimportant rambling: Sasaki and Juuzou's relationship is a mix of sexual/tender fluff with masochism and sadism intertwined to make a delicious cocktail of win. I'll elaborate on it in the next chapters.
Chapter 1: Two of a Kind
In a renovated classroom smelling of fresh plaster and paint, students gathered around a lone figure sitting behind the teacher's desk, like moths drawn to a flame. The figure looked about eighteen, give or take a year. A crown of white hair looked out of place atop this juvenile face. His head was bent forward, a sheet of hair hiding his eyes from view.
The students' age varied from early teens to eighteen. They were observing the alabaster haired youth silently, solemn expression on their faces.
One of the gathered students asked, "Say, Haise-san, tell us a story!"
Haise said, "A story, huh?". It was weird; usually Haise-san's voice was smooth, not this gravelly tone that he just took.
He asked, "How about the story of the Prince and the Flame Demon?"
The overeager students' spokesperson shook his head vigorously, and said "Nah, this one sucks. Why don't you tell us the story of this Kaneki pet? You didn't finish it last time..."
A strange smile uplifted his lips and Haise slowly raised his head. Twin dead pools gazed listlessly at the audience, eliciting gasps from the students. His usually sparkling grey eyes seemed devoid of any emotion. Some students wanted to run away at the strange image their idol was casting, but most of them wanted to hear the end of the story.
His grin widened and something foul lurked in the grey eyes.
"Oh, this one, huh. I told you about Jason, right?" Quick nods, "There was one part I omitted last time... Jason had a pet, if you will... He got it when it was young, barely six at the time. He wanted to keep it forever with him, but alas, the pet was frail and no amount of his 'tender care' could remedy that."
The students looked distraught. Jason was one of their favorite characters, and it was such a shame that he couldn't find happiness after all his hardships.
"So he asked for the help of the good Doctor Kanou, who, upon seeing the poor man's plight, took pity and gave the pet medicine to survive the winter. Jason was overjoyed. He spent eight years," At this point, Sasaki's voice cracked a bit, and he had to gulp to regain his neutral narrative tone, "taking care of his dearest pet, smothering it with 'love', 'care', anything to make his pet 'happy', right?"
"And... ?" One of the students asked.
"The pet tried to escape," Collective gasps.
"What! What an ingrate!"
A dry chuckle met their ears, "Ingrate indeed. Jason was furious. He decided to punish the pet."
Sage nods from everybody. An undisciplined pet should be punished in order for it to not misbehave again.
"He felt some remorse, seeing the sad eyes of his pet. 'Maybe I went too hard on Kaneki', he told himself, thinking of his pet, 'Maybe what he needed was just company. That's it, I'll give him a friend! I'll get him a -"
"A cat?" One eager youth interrupted.
"A female dog?" One of the slyer ones whispered.
"A centipede!" Sasaki laughed at their flabbergasted expression.
"Whaaaaat? Scratch that, what happens next? Kaneki is happy because he got a friend to play with, no?"
"Oh, you see a charming friend in him, but all Kaneki heard was the other pet skittering on the ground, its hundred legs scratching the floor... Scratch, scratch, scrit scrit."
"And in the end, what happens to Kaneki? He met some nice female and they had lots of cubs, right?"
Sasaki's eyes were closed and a wide grin split his face.
"Why, of course, it died," At the disappointed exclamations from the youngsters, Sasaki elaborated, "I mean, if you take a pet from its natural habitat and keep it caged, without the appropriate company and care, it will eventually die from loneliness..."
"That sucks..." The most outspoken student said, shaking his head. Then he slapped his hand together, as if remembering something, "So you still didn't tell us what kind of animal Kaneki was, in the end."
Sasaki leaned forward, his eyes once more hidden by white bangs.
"Animal? Oh, Kaneki was a hu-"
"Associate special class Haise Sasaki-san," The man was interrupted by the entrance of Amon Kotarou, an uptight though respectful first class, "Special Class Arima is asking for your attendance. Meeting starts in five."
Amon left as swiftly as he came.
"I see," He rose from his seat, dusting off his pants. "Well, guys and girls, I'd better get going!" He smiled at the disappointed audience. Only his sharp hearing allowed him to hear the whispered words of the youths as he left the classroom.
"Was it a husky?"
"I bet it was a Hungarian dog."
Sasaki walked for a few minutes in silence. He suddenly stopped then broke into a fit of laughter, startling a few passing by investigators and putting them on edge. A strange smile flitted across his lips.
"It can only be a human. Riiiiight?" Then he resumed walking, a light skip in his gait.
A sweet smell invaded his nostrils, making him pause in his tracks. There he was, all white hair and strange outfits and appetizing flesh. Rank 3 investigator, Suzuya Juuzou stood before him. The corridor was empty, leaving only the two males in the narrow space.
"You seem full of energy today, Sasaki-saaan" The energetic youth called, opening his arms wide and running toward him.
"Oh, Juuzou-kun!" Sasaki reciprocated the gesture. They ran toward each other. Once only a few inches separated the two youth, Juuzou's arms dropped and his hands dove into Sasaki's pockets, searching for the treats Sasaki usually prepared for him.
To his great surprise, Sasaki's arms encircled the petite teen, bringing him closer. Against his chest. He burrowed his face in Juuzou's hair, inhaling deeply. He released a contented sigh.
"You smell delicious. I'd love to have a taste." He said, his eyes full of a thousand indecipherable emotions, his dark gaze hidden by silky white strands.
"My, If I didn't know better, I'd say it's a proposal," Juuzou's hands, which were still in Sasaki's pocked, pushed inwards, gripping Sasaki through layers of fabric.
"Come on, won't you let me have a bite today?" asked Sasaki, his left eye morphing into the customary Kakugan, the Ghoul's Eye.
"Maybe..." Juuzou whispered seductively, raising his head to look at mismatched, but oh so beautiful -for there was beauty in darkness- eyes.
Sasaki's eyes widened in bloodlust and other feelings so complicated his head went spinning. His two arms, which were encircling the smaller male's waist, dropped lower, gripping the other male's bottom with a bruising force. Sasaki lifted Juuzou, letting the smaller youth's legs wrap around his waist. Then he drove him against a wall, and unceremoniously bit into the junction between the neck and the shoulder.
"Aah, no tearing me off, you naughty boy," Juuzou moaned, feeling lightheaded by all the feelings and sensations invading his body and mind. Sasaki only grunted.
Sasaki growled in pain - or was it pleasure- when two daggers were driven into his dorsal muscles, held by none other than the feverish boy; Juuzou. Oh, the sweet agony.
"You're fucked up," Juuzou whispered hotly against his ear, "Normal people, ah, harder," Sasaki's nails drew crescents against the boy's back, leaving it bloodied, "Normal people don't feel pleasure when they're in pain. That goes for ghouls also..."
"Aren't we the same kind though?" He finished.
Sasaki let go of the punctured shoulder, licking the blood spurting from the still hot wound. He gazed into the other boy's dilated eyes. Obviously he wasn't the only one drawing twisted pleasure from inflicting, or receiving pain. He released his hold on the petite teen, letting him fall to the ground on wobbly feet.
"We're going to be late," He said, adjusting his arousal. It became quite the problem with time.
Ghouls don't feel the difference between sexual pleasure and pleasure brought by consuming humans. One thing leading to another, during intercourse they wanted to eat, and while eating they wanted to have sex. Talk about fucked up physiology...
"And I should care because...?" Juuzou asked, pouting.
"Because if we're late at the meeting, we're going to be late for dinner. And we wouldn't want to miss that, right?"
They looked at each other then, and if people were to pass by, they would see two lunatics, one with a bleeding shoulder, the other with a profusely bleeding back, twin weapons sticking out of the torn suit, chuckling darkly at the prospect of diner.
Nutcases...
At a certain restaurant, guests dressed in the most extravagant of suits and dresses money could buy were mingling, talking about politics or business forecasts worldwide. They were upstairs, dining tables set for tonight's dishes.
Only one of them seemed distracted by something, politely disengaging himself from any conversation the guests tried to engage with him. His gaze often fell on the area below. A blonde lady stood on his left, observing the silent man.
After a few minutes, she asked, "Mister MM, what kind of dish have you prepared for tonight's main course?"
"That, my dear Madame, is a très bonne question. You'll surely agree that it is an exceptional find. Oh, but the table is dressed down there... Très bien!"
He looked at the gathered ghouls, all of them influential enough in politics, economics or philosophy to make the world spin clockwise or counterclockwise. He was quite proud of his high-end restaurant.
"Without any further ado, ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you tonight's main course..." A light was cast on the pit below, showcasing the products.
"Tonight's dinner is an exceptional, very rare piece. Why, it is two inspectors from the CCG!"
Shocked gasps echoed in the restaurant. Inspectors from the CCG? It wasn't the first time they caught one of them, but two at the same time?
"But, Mister MM, my eyes must be fooling me, aren't they..." A guest asked, pointing a trembling finger at the white haired youths.
"Noblesse oblige, ingredients of the highest quality are a prerequisite to an outstanding dinner. Some of you may have recognized them. They are indeed the famous Whiteout that strike fear into every ghoul's heart. Survival rate after an encounter with them is," Mister MM brought his thumb and index finger together, forming a circle with the digits, "zero."
Excited whispers travelled the width of the circular room.
"How did you manage such a-"
"Tut tut, a Chef does not reveal where he procures the ingredients, that is a secret," He said conspiratorially, winking behind his mask.
"For the greatest pleasure of this pleasing crowd, your host is delighted to offer you the famous Associate Special class Haise Sasaki and his partner, the deadly Suzuya Juuzou. Now, let the feast begin."
"Before that, dearest host," Sasaki's voice came from the pit. Mister MM frowned behind his mask. This wasn't part of the script. "I'd like to make an announcement," The boy held out three digits in the air. "Three. Do you know what this digit represents?"
"Meat isn't supposed to speak," One of the guest sneered, but Mister MM silenced him by raising his hand.
"How uncouth. We must be respectful to the meat brought to us today. No, I have no idea, but surely you will enlighten us?" He said, amused. Chuckles met his question.
"That's the number of minutes my partner and I have lost here by hearing your boring speech. So, we've decided on the following thing; we'll kill one of you for each second lost. That's 180 deaths tonight. In a measure of fairness, we will kill indiscriminately-"
One foolhardy businessghoul scoffed, "Kill 180 of us? You mean you're going to be sliced into 180 different pieces-" He was silenced when he lost his head, courtesy of Sasaki's swift Kagune blade.
It caught the attention of the gathered society, who gasped in fright at the lightning fast swing. How in the seven hells...?
Sasaki brought a finger to his lips. He brought his head back and, to their horror, a glowing Kakugan glared at them.
"One-eye...!" A female ghoul gasped.
"I wasn't done, listen when I speak, will you?" It sounded absurdly like a parent berating his misbehaving child.
"Where was I again. Ah yeah! You made us lose 200 seconds, with this interruption. That means that 200 of you will be killed tonight, the rest shall be sent to Cochlea or killed by the higher-ups once we've captured them."
"Can we start already? It's getting boring here," A childish voice spoke to his right. Sasaki looked at the boy next to him.
"Of course, Juuzou-kun, you may take out your weapons, the feast is about to begin..."
"Weapons!" One of frightened guests said pointing a trembling finger at the host, "You didn't tell us they would be armed!"
"Cool down," Mister MM said, though even he looked a little uneasy, "We separated them from all their belongings, there should be nothing left to strike us with,"
While he said that, Juuzou took off his suit revealing a scarred, bandaged torso. When he took off the bandages, blades of all sizes were revealed, stuck to the youth's torso by tape. They were really thin, so they didn't notice he was armed.
"Camouflage~" He sing sang, sticking out his tongue.
Sasaki took Juuzou in his arms, carrying him bridal style. With a powerful leap and a gleeful whoop from Juuzou, they were upstairs. The first guests that tried to run were impaled by Sasaki's Kagune. He let his partner fall on his feet. He landed with a feline grace.
"Now, let the carnage..." Sasaki ground out, bloodlust thick in his tone, making the guests nearest to him recoil in fright.
"Begin~" Juuzou sang lightheartedly.
Outside the restaurant, fifty investigators stood withstanding the chilly wind and the eerie silence. They were led by the boastful Special Class investigator Itsuki Marude.
They were late. If there was one thing the Whiteout combo was, it was punctual. There was a reason they were named this way. The ignorant inspectors thought it was a sort of pun between the investigators of , 'Oh, look the white are out'.
What it referred to, in fact, was that when they operated, there was no sound of battle to be heard, like a snowstorm smothering all noise. The other aspect was the swiftness of death brought to enemy ghouls. They had the same efficiency and zero survival rate as Arima.
"I'm cold," Marude said, his teeth chattering.
"You think they got done in by the Gourmet?" A rank 3 investigator asked his partner, an unnamed and uninteresting rank 1 investigator.
"As if," He scoffed, "we could send the trash in a solo raid against Aogiri tree, and they would come out unharmed. Freaking beasts..." He muttered the last part under his breath.
Having heard them, Amon Koutaro's hand tightened until his knuckle turned white. Who was the trash there? If he remembered right, the Rank 1 who uttered these poisonous words was saved once by Associate Special rank investigator Haise Sasaki! He was going to remind him of this fact but his partner's hand fell on his shoulder, stopping him.
"Amon-kun," Rank 1 investigator, Mado Kureo asked, "do you remember what I told you about CCG's strength?"
"Y-Yes. Cohesion and collaboration is the key to victory." He said, remembering one of CCG's credos.
"That's right, Amon-kun. You should think your actions through carefully. And before taking any rash action, you should ask yourself 'Am I acting in the best interest of the CCG?'. That is all I can ask of you," Mado Kureo finished with this strange smile of his that made his sunken cheek seem more prominent, and his eyes look a little more deranged.
"Yes..."
"Oh, there they are." Mado spoke, looking at a point beyond his partner's shoulder.
Koutarou turned around, gazing at the three figures walking out of the restaurant's secret entrance.
One of them was chewing on something, begetting the disgust of the gathered inspectors bar three. There was no doubt as to what Haise Sasaki was chewing, judging by the amount of blood and gore on his person. Ghoul remains.
The second was polishing his blades, a contented smile on his face, his gait carefree and happy.
What they didn't expect was the third figure, cradling his ribs, a broken mask in the shape of a crescent on his bruised face.
Once they arrived in front of Special Class Itsuki, the man rubbed his temples.
"Report!" He barked.
"Sir, the extermination mission was carried out according to schedule, out of the two hundred ghouls invited to tonight's dinner, a hundred and fifty have been identified, fifty remain unknown. All two hundred of them were sent to an early grave."
"What I am asking is, why is there a survivor? The mission was extermination, not trash collection." Maruki said, crossing his arms, a put off expression on his face.
With this, his perfect record was going to get blemished and he'd never nag Arima about his future greater amount of achievements!
"Is there a reason to give?" Sasaki asked emotionlessly.
"I am waiting for an explanation," Maruki answered with as much passion.
"I always wanted a pet. I think I might have picked up Jason's bad habits," He said, grinning, eyes closed and scratching his cheek in shame. Needless to say he smudged a good amount of blood on the skin with the gesture.
"Achoo!" Juuzou sneezed, rubbing his small red nose. "Are we gonna stay here all night or are we going home?" He asked, teeth chattering.
"We're going home. Boys!" Maruki shouted, drawing the attention of the investigators, "Clean the mess up. I want this hellish place to be so sparkling clean even Kishou Arima would be delighted to inspect his inflated head on the slabs. Now get to work!"
"Sir, yes sir!" Dozens of feet moved synchronously toward the small building.
"And you," He narrowed his eyes on Sasaki, who finished licking his fingers with a loud wet suction noise each time a digit left his mouth, "I want you in my office at 2300 sharp, lateness will not be tolerated, you insolent brat," He harrumphed, leaving the grounds by foot. Oh, how he longed for his departed motorcycle.
"Namuabidabutsu" He said, praying for his poor engine's soul.
Once the irate investigator left, Sasaki looked to his left, gazing at the silent Gourmet. His hand reached out, but instead of hitting the him, he patted the ghoul's soft purple hair.
"You behaved, I'm proud of you," To most, it would sound condescending, but the Gourmet's eyes widened. He fell to one knee.
"You honor me, Haise-sama. May this humble servant ask for a favor from his generous master?" He asked, his eyes fixated on the ground. Sasaki chuckled. He extended his hand again, parting the ghoul's lips with his index finger. He punctured the digit with the help of one of the Gourmet's serrated teeth. Then he swiped the bleeding finger across the Gourmet's tongue.
"As a reward, I'll let you have a taste..." He spoke sultrily.
Once he had retracted his hand, the purple haired ghoul swallowed. Immediately his Kakugan flared to life. His arms cradled his ribs, not because of the pain of the broken bones, but to stop himself from going after Sasaki. To stop himself from ripping him limb from limb. Calmato...
Not that he could do anything. The ghoul was a force of nature. Something equaling the one eyed owl. No, greater than that. He didn't even break a sweat against a hundred ghouls, some of them SS ranked. Calmato...!
"Divine... Tsukiyama Shuu, is yours to command." He said, head bowed. Tears of pleasure were running down his cheeks. Ah, Monsieur Savarin. Vous aviez raison...!
"Achoo!" Juuzou sneezed again, rubbing his arms vigorously to keep a little warmth in his lithe body.
"Be careful or you're going to be sick,," Sasaki admonished.
"And whose fault is that?!" Juuzou whined, pouting.
"I love you too," He said patting the boy's head.
He laughed as he ran, dragging a bewildered Tsukiyama Shuu by the tie with him, avoiding the knives thrown at him by a petulant Rank 3 investigator.
"It's them again. I'm sure of it," A fiery young woman murmured while cleaning a cup of coffee.
"It bears their mark." A tall, white haired young man said, pouring the black beverage into an empty cup.
"It's Whiteout alright. The eerily spotless building, the mysterious ghouls disappearance. It fits the bill," Said the Devil Ape, Enji Koma, between two sips on a half-full cup of coffee.
The customers were also whispering hurriedly to each other. Panic had spread like wildfire in their tightly knit community. Sure, the Gourmet was not their best friend, but he wasn't hostile per se, preferring to maim a few victims in his own hunting grounds.
The worrying fact was the disappearance of 'Midnight Claw' Yoshikawa, an influential artist ghoul. He was SS rated the last time they checked.
"Excuse-me," Their attention were drawn to a frail-looking black-haired youth, "I beg your pardon, but who are these Whiteout you are all talking about?" 0He asked a little shyly.
They immediately tensed. They could smell a particularly good smell wafting out of him. It was not the smell of a ghoul.
"Who are you?" The white-haired man from earlier asked tersely. He was ready to dispose of the teen if he proved to be a menace.
"Ah, I didn't mean to startle you," He said quickly raising his hands in the universal surrendering gesture, "My name is Kaneki Ken, I am a ghoul too," his Kakugan flared to life.
They didn't quite let their guards down but they heaved a sigh of relief. At least he wasn't one of these damn doves.
"It's a long story, you're sure you want to hear it?" The only girl of the staff asked, propping her elbow on the counter, her head resting in her open palm.
"Ah, I've got a lot of free time," Ken said, smiling benevolently.
Juuzou woke up when the door to his room opened. He yawned and droopy eyes landed on the figure of his partner, the associate special class Haise Sasaki.
"Sasaki-san?" He asked, still half-asleep.
With silent steps, his superior got nearer, removing his uniform. He didn't stop there, he removed every single piece of clothing he wore. His frame was thin but muscled.
"I already told you to drop the honorifics when we're alone," Sasaki whispered.
He pulled the cover and slid inside the bed, resting against the equally naked Suzuya Juuzou's back.
"Say, Sasaki-san. I'd love to hear the end yesterday's story." Juuzou said, purring when Sasaki traced arabesques on his still healing shoulder.
"I always baffle me how you always seem to know what I am doing at any given time. Very well," He whispered against the youth's neck. "He was a human. But what the story doesn't say is that heroes never truly stay dead, do they?"
"I see," Juuzou mumbled tiredly, "And what about this other boy, Ayato?"
"That," Sasaki's hand reached around to flick the slightly younger boy's nose, "Is a story for another time." He chuckled.
"Sasaki-san, why do you always come here. Aren't you afraid?" Afraid I'll kill you in your sleep goes unsaid.
"I could ask you the same question. You know about the rules for our unit's existence, do you not? We monitor each other, waiting for any slip up to kill. CCG believed we would be at each other's throat, that's why they put us together in this small apartment. After all, aren't we both undesirables? Violent, bloodthirsty beasts good for nothing other than killing. Let me tell you what, when you put two different diseases inside the same body they don't fight each other. The body festers twice as quickly - Oh, you're already asleep?"
He ended his longue tirade when he heard the regular breathing and prolonged silence of his partner.
Unbeknownst to Sasaki, a lone tear rolled from the other boy's closed eyelid.
'I don't want,' The younger boy mouthed silently.
"Though I suppose, even beasts have feelings," He spoke softly, so as not to wake his partner up, "Goodnight Juuzou-kun," He whispered, falling into a comfortable sleep.
Warmth filled Juuzou and it was one of the best restful sleep they had since they were rescued by the CCG.
End of chapter 1!
Preview. Chapter 2 (Descent into Madness [Or how to make a rebellious ghoul learn anatomy]):
"I must admit this look suits you. You, the high and mighty Kirishima Ayato, bound and blindfolded. At my mercy. My plaything, really. It's nearly erotic..." Sasaki licked his lips.
"What do you want?" The black-haired boy whispered brokenly.
"Oh, how you wound me so! Don't you remember all these nights spent together in this room. Don't you recall, I used to come here, every single night. I'd think of a bone and I'd write it on a piece of paper which I then folded. You had to guess which one I had picked. For every wrong bone you named, I'd break a bone in your body, until you spoke the correct name, or until the correct one was broken. Starting from your toes, then up and up and up. Well guess what? After all this time, I want to play it again~"
"Please..." Tears soaked the blindfold. He couldn't take it anymore.
Sasaki shook his head and heaved a sigh.
"Ayato-kun. I already told you that 'No' and 'Please' were not bones, you should have known it by now. Too bad..."
Crack!
"Aaaaaaaaaargh!"
End of preview
Yeah, this Haise Sasaki is a piece of work, alright.
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